Method and apparatus for controlling a power amplifier in a mobile communication system

ABSTRACT

A power amplification controlling apparatus and method in a mobile communication system are provided. An amplifying part amplifies an input Radio Frequency (RF) signal with a power supply voltage. A bias adaptation part detects a change in at least one an operation and an environment of the amplifying part, attenuates the RF signal according to the detected change, detecting the envelope of the attenuated signal, and generates a supply voltage control signal according to the envelope. A power supply part changes the power supply voltage in response to the supply voltage control signal.

PRIORITY

This application is a divisional application under 35 U.S.C. §121 ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/792,378, filed Mar. 4, 2004, andclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to an application entitled “Methodand Apparatus for Controlling Power Amplifier in a Mobile CommunicationSystem” filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 4, 2003and assigned Serial No. 2003-13219 and to an application entitled“Method and Apparatus for Controlling Power Amplifier in a MobileCommunication System” filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Officeon May 27, 2003 and assigned Serial No. 2003-33841, the contents of bothof which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a mobile communicationsystem, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for controlling apower amplifier.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a communication system such as a bandwidth-efficient digital systemusing Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) or a Frequency DemodulationMultiplexing (FDM) communication system using multi-carrier or singlesideband (SSB) signals, a signal is subject to modulation andmultiplexing and thus the time-varying envelope of its Peak to Averagepower Ratio (PAR) varies greatly. A base station (BS) uses a poweramplifier (PA) with good linearity to amplify a Radio Frequency (RF)signal prior to transmission in the communication system.

A cellular system such as Code Division Multiple Access CDMA orOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) transmits a modulatedmultiplexed signal having a high PAR to multiple users sharing the samefrequency band. Radio Frequency Power Amplifiers (RFPA) used inconventional communication systems use power inefficiently because theyconsume a large amount of Direct Current (DC) to amplify the RF signalhaving a high PAR and are expensive to manufacture.

In order to increase the efficiency of a PA, the power drawn from apower supply for the PA is adjusted according to the size of a signalenvelope. This principle is called bias adaptation. This bias controlscheme controls DC bias according to the envelope of an input signalinto a transistor in order to reduce power consumption in thetransistor.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a conventionalpower amplification control apparatus using a general bias controlscheme.

Referring to FIG. 1, the power amplification controlling apparatuscomprises an envelope detecting circuit (EDC) 101 for detecting theenvelope of an input signal and a voltage upconverter (VUC) 102 forupconverting a DC voltage V_(c) received from a DC supply 103 which is asystem voltage supply based on the signal envelope.

When the voltage of the input signal envelope exceeds a predeterminedthreshold, the VUC 102 increases the power supply voltage. Therefore,the change of mean input power varies the characteristics of an RFPA104. Also, the characteristics of the RFPA 104 and the EDC 101 vary withtemperature changes. As a result, the RFPA 104 cannot perform optimumamplification.

Unlike a PA in a terminal, a PA in a BS consumes hundreds of watts andthus requires a VUC of hundreds of watts. However, the manufacture ofsuch a VUC is not viable because of manufacturing costs andtechnological constraints. As a solution to this problem, the poweramplification control apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 was proposed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a conventionalpower amplification controlling apparatus using an improved bias controlscheme. The improved bias control scheme uses two DC voltages instead ofone DC voltage.

Referring to FIG. 2, the power amplification controlling apparatuscomprises a first DC supply 203 for supplying a power supply voltageV_(c), a voltage combiner (V_(c)) 205 for combining V_(c) with a voltageV_(v) received from a VUC 202, and a second DC supply 206 for supplyinga voltage Max V_(v) to the VUC 202. The VUC 202 and the V_(c) 205collectively form a voltage enhancement circuit (VEC) 207.

The first DC supply 203 supplies a predetermined constant DC voltageV_(c) to an RFPA 204 and the VUC 202 changes the voltage max V_(v) tothe voltage V_(v) between 0 and Max V_(v) according to the envelope of asignal input to the RFPA 204. The second DC supply 206 outputs Max V_(v)which is a maximum value of the output voltage V_(v) of the VUC 202.

In operation, if the voltage of the input signal envelope is equal to orless than a predetermined threshold, V_(c) is supplied to the RFPA 204.If the signal envelope voltage exceeds the threshold, the V_(c) 202 addsV_(c) to V_(v) and supplies the sum as a bias voltage V_(p)(V_(p)=V_(c)+V_(v)) to the RFPA 204. For supplying V_(c), an existingpower supply of hundreds of watts is used. However, the VUC 202 forsupplying the voltage V_(v) varying with the input signal envelope canbe implemented at tens of watts.

The relationship among the power supply voltage V_(c), the break-downvoltage V_(b) of a transistor, the VUC output voltage V_(v), and thebias voltage V_(p)over the signal envelope is illustrated in FIG. 3.

In the power amplification controlling apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2,Max V_(v) must be (V_(b)−V_(c)) to protect the transistor. In otherwords, Max V_(v) must be determined according to V_(b). However, V_(c)varies due to the use of an auxiliary power supply in the case of anelectrical failure in a BS, or due to power discharge in a terminal.Therefore, with Max V_(v) fixed to (V_(b)−V_(c)), if V_(c) rises byΔV_(c), V_(p)=V_(c)+ΔV_(c)+V_(v)>V_(b), it leads to deterioration of thetransistor characteristics or the destruction of the transistor. IfV_(c) drops by ΔV_(c), V_(p)=V_(c)−ΔV_(c)+V_(v)<V_(b), the resultingdistortion of the input signal to the RFPA 204 leads to deterioration ofthe spurious characteristics of the input signal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to substantially solve at leastthe above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least theadvantages below. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is toprovide an apparatus and method for improving the efficiency of a poweramplifier in a bias adaptation scheme based on envelope shaping changesin order to transmit a signal having a very high Peak to Average powerRatio (PAR).

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus andmethod for improving the efficiency of a power amplifier by optimizing apower supply voltage for application to the power amplifier through abias adaptation part that controls the attenuation of an input RadioFrequency (RF) signal and generates a power supply voltage controlsignal.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus andmethod for improving the efficiency of a power amplifier by optimizingits performance adaptively according to changes in the amplificationenvironment of a high-PAR signal, such as changes in mean input power, apower supply voltage, and an operation temperature.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatusand method for maintaining the characteristics of a power amplifieragainst changes in power supply voltage.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a poweramplification controlling apparatus and method for protecting atransistor against changes in power supply voltage.

The above objects are achieved by providing a power amplificationcontrolling apparatus and method in a mobile communication system.

According to one aspect of the present invention, in a poweramplification controlling apparatus, an amplifying part amplifies aninput RF signal with a power supply voltage. A bias adaptation partdetects the change in at least one of the operation and environment ofthe amplifying part, attenuates the RF signal according to the detectedchange, detects the envelope of the attenuated signal, and generates asupply voltage control signal according to the envelope. A power supplypart changes the power supply voltage in response to the supply voltagecontrol signal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a poweramplification controlling method, the change in at least one anamplifier's operation and environment is detected, the envelope of aninput signal is detected, and a supply voltage control signal isgenerated according to the signal envelope and the change in at leastone of the environment and operation of the amplifier. The power supplyvoltage is changed in response to the supply voltage control signal andapplies a bias voltage for amplification.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, in a poweramplification controlling apparatus, an input part generates an RFsignal by modulating an input baseband signal and detecting the envelopeof the baseband signal. An amplifying part amplifies the RF signal witha power supply voltage. A bias adaptation part detects the change in atleast one an operation and environment of the amplifying part andgenerates a supply voltage control signal according to the signalenvelope. A power supply part controls the power supply voltage inresponse to the supply voltage control signal received from the biasadaptation part.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, in a poweramplification controlling method, an RF signal is generated bymodulating an input baseband signal, the envelope of the baseband signalis detected, the change in at least one of an operation and environmentof an amplifier is detected, and a supply voltage control signal isgenerated according to the signal envelope and the change in the atleast one of the operation and environment. The power supply voltage iscontrolled in response to the supply voltage control signal.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, in a poweramplification controlling apparatus, a voltage converter outputs avariable Direct Current (DC) voltage according to the envelope of aninput RF signal, a supply voltage variation compensator controls amaximum output voltage from the voltage converter according to a changein a power supply voltage output from a power supply, and a voltagecombiner provides the sum of the output voltage of the voltage converterand the power supply voltage of the power supply as a bias voltage to apower amplifier.

According to further another aspect of the present invention, in amethod of controlling a bias voltage for amplification in a poweramplifying apparatus for amplifying an input RF signal, a variation isdetected in a predetermined power supply voltage. Upon detection of thepower supply voltage variation, a voltage variable with an envelopevoltage of an input signal is controlled according to the power supplyvoltage variation. The sum of the controlled voltage and thepredetermined power supply voltage is provided as the bias voltage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a conventionalpower amplification control apparatus using a general bias controlscheme;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a conventionalpower amplification control apparatus using an improved bias controlscheme;

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating an example of a voltage relationship inthe power amplification control apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a poweramplification control-apparatus based on a bias control scheme accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a power amplificationcontrol method in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a poweramplification control apparatus based on a bias control scheme accordingto another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a power amplificationcontrolling method in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a poweramplification control apparatus based on a bias control scheme accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a power amplificationcontrolling method for the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an example of the poweramplification controlling method of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are graphs illustrating an example of a comparison involtage relationship between a conventional power amplification controlapparatus and the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 8 when the power supplyvoltage drops; and

FIGS. 12A and 12B are graphs illustrating an example of a comparison involtage relationship between the conventional power amplificationcontrol apparatus and the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 8 when the powersupply voltage rises.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below withreference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description,well-known functions or constructions are omitted for conciseness.

The embodiments of the present invention provide a power amplificationcontrol apparatus and method in a mobile communication system. Itproposes a method of generating a power supply voltage control signalaccording to changes in an operation or environment of an amplifier anda method of controlling a bias voltage for a PA according to the changein a power supply voltage.

A description will first be made of a power amplification controlapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention withreference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the structure of apower amplification control apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the power amplification control apparatus comprisesan RF signal amplifying part (RAP) 410 for amplifying an input RF signal(RF in), a bias adaptation part (BAP) 420 for detecting the envelope ofthe RF signal and controlling a power supply voltage V_(p) applied tothe RAP 410, and a VEC 430 for providing the controlled V_(p) to the RAP410.

The RAP 410 includes an RF coupling circuit (RCC) 411 connected betweenthe BAP 420 and an RF delay (RFD) 412, for feeding the input RF signalto both the BAP 420 and the RFD 412. The RFD 412 matches the timing ofsignal output from the VEC 430 to an RFPA 414 to the signal output froman RF Drive Amplifier (RFDA) 413 to the RFPA 414. The RFDA 413 and theRFPA 414 amplify the RF signal. The RFDA 413 functions to control thelevel of an input signal to the RFPA 414.

The BAP 420 includes an RF variable attenuator (RVA) 421 for receivingthe RF signal from the RCC 411, an EDC 422 for detecting the envelope ofthe RF signal, an envelope compensation circuit (ECC) 423, a biasadaptation circuit (BAC) 424, and a PA supply voltage controller (PSC)425.

The PSC 425 controls the RVA 421 and the BAC 424 to adjust a PA supplyvoltage for the RFPA 414.

When the operation or environment of the RFPA 414 changes with the meaninput power, a power supply voltage, and an operation temperature, thecharacteristics of the RFPA 414 change non-linearly. To compensate forthe characteristics change and optimize the RFPA characteristics, theRVA 421 is, controlled. The PSC 425 is responsible for detecting theRFPA characteristics change.

Hence, the PSC 425 transmits a variable attenuator control signal (VCS)to the RVA 421 in consideration of the change in the operation orenvironment of the RFPA 414 in order to set optimum signal attenuation.The PSC 425 also outputs a BAC Offset Signal (BOS) and a BAC ScaleFactor (BSF) to the BAC 424 so that the BAC 424 can output an optimum asupply voltage control signal (SCS).

The RVA 421 receives the RF signal from the RCC 411, changes its levelaccording to the VCS which the PSC 425 sets based on the change in theoperation or environment of the RFPA 414, and provides the level-changedRF signal to the EDC 422.

The ECC 423 optimizes an envelope detection signal (EDS) received fromthe EDC 422 at a mean input signal level and outputs the resultingsignal as an envelope compensation signal (ECS).

The BAC 424 generates the SCS and provides an optimum power supplyvoltage from to the ECS received from the ECC 423 according to the BOSand BSF received from the PSC 425. The BOS and BSF are set in based onthe change in the operation or environment of the RFPA 414 in the PSC425.

The VEC 430 includes a VUC 432 for upconverting a system power supplyvoltage V_(c) and outputting an upconverted power supply voltage (USV),a transistor 431 (Q1) for changing the USV according to the SCS receivedfrom the BAP 420, and a diode 434 (DI) and an RF choke (RFC or L1) 433,for blocking the SCS from affecting V_(c) when Q1 turns on.

A power amplification controlling method for the above bias-adaptivepower amplification controlling apparatus based on shape changes in theenvelope of an RF signal will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and5.

Referring to FIG. 4, upon receipt of an RF signal, the RCC 411 providesthe RF signal to the BAP 420 and the RFD 412. The RFD 412 matches thetiming of providing a bias voltage V_(p) to the RFPA 414 with the timingof providing the output signal of the RFDA 413 to the RFPA 414 bydelaying the RF signal. If the RFD 412 fails to delay the RF signalaccurately, the RFDA 413 mitigates the effect of the characteristicimprovement of the RFPA 414.

Referring to FIG. 5, the PSC 425 detects the change in the operation orenvironment of the RFPA 414 and generates control signals according tothe operational or environmental change in step 500. The operational orenvironmental change can be a change in an input signal, temperature, asystem power supply voltage, etc. If the change of the input signalcauses its power to exceed a threshold, conditions under which a signalenvelope is measured must be changed. However, it is difficult inpractice to apply different conditions at each change. Thus, the PSC 425generates a VCS according to the variation, to thereby control the RVA421 to attenuate the input RF signal at or below a predetermined level.If the characteristics of the RFPA 414 change due to the change of thetemperature and the system power supply voltage, it is linearity isdecreased. To solve this problem, the PSC 425 generates the BSF and BOSby which the SCS is generated. That is, the PSC 425 generates the BSF tocontrol the scale of the ECS and the BOS to control the offset of theECS.

The RVA 421 then changes the level of the RF signal by means of the VCSin step 510. That is, the RVA 421 changes the attenuation of the RFsignal according to the VCS, thereby reducing the level of the RF signalat the input of the EDC 422.

In step 520, the EDC 422 detects the envelope of the attenuated signaland transmits the resulting EDS to the ECC 423. The ECC 423 compensatesthe EDS and transmits the ECS to the BAC 424 such that an optimum V_(p)can be provided to the RFPA 414 in a predetermined operation environmentin step 530. In step 540, the BAC 424 generates the SCS from the ECSaccording to the BSF and BOS and transmits the SCS to the base of Q1.

Meanwhile, the VUC 432 in the VEC 430 upconverts the externally receivedsystem power supply voltage V_(c) and transmits the USV to the collectorof Q1 in step 550. Q1 changes the USV according to the SCS and outputsthe changed USV as V_(p) to the RFPA 414 in step 560. During thisoperation, the RF choke 433 and the diode 434 connected to Q1 inparallel block V_(p) from affecting V_(c).

In accordance with the above-described embodiment of the presentinvention, the power amplification control apparatus, including the RAP,BAP and VEC, operates based on bias adaptation using shape changes in anRF signal envelope. On the other hand, the power amplification controlapparatus according to another embodiment of the present inventionoperates based on bias adaptation using envelope shape changes in abaseband signal envelope. This power amplifying apparatus will bedescribed briefly with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 illustrates a power amplification controlling apparatus accordingto another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the power amplification control apparatus operatesbased on bias adaptation using shape changes in the envelope of abaseband signal having a high PAR. In the power amplification controlapparatus, a Baseband Modulation and envelope Detection Part (BMDP) 610includes a modulator (MOD) 611 for modulating and upconverting abaseband signal, a baseband envelope detector (BED) 612 for detectingthe envelope of the baseband signal, and a local oscillator (RF OSC) 613for providing a local oscillation signal to the MOD 611.

Because the BMDP 610 provides the input baseband signal to both an RAP620 and a BAP 630, the RAP 620 is configured in the same manner as theRAP 410 except for the omission of the RCC illustrated in FIG. 4. TheBAP 630 is also the same in configuration as the BAP 420 except for theomission of the EDC illustrated in FIG. 4.

A power amplification controlling method for the apparatus illustratedin FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 7, when an input baseband signal is provided to boththe MOD 611 and BED 612, the MOD 611 modulates and upconverts thebaseband signal to an RF signal using the local oscillation signal fromthe local oscillator 613 in step 700. An RFD 621 delays the RF signal tomatch the timing of providing the bias voltage V_(p) from a VEC 640 toan RFPA 623 with the timing of providing the output of an RFDA 622 tothe RFPA 623.

The RFDA 622 amplifies the delayed RF signal and the RFPA 623 amplifiesthe RF signal received from the RFDA 622 by V_(p) received from the VEC640.

In step 710, the BED 612 detects the envelope of the baseband signal andtransmits it to the BAP 630.

The BAP 630 and the VEC 640 operate in the same manner as theircounterparts, that is, the BAP 420 and the VEC 430 illustrated in FIG.4, respectively, except for the difference that a BAC 632 only controlsthe SCS according to a BSF and a BOS received from a PSC 633, takingaccount of the change in the operation or environment of the RFPA 622,while both the RVA 421 and the BAC 422 control generation of the SCS inFIG. 4. The change in the operation or environment refers to a change inan input signal, temperature, and a system power supply voltage. Theoperational or environmental change varies the characteristics of theRFPA 623, reducing its linearity. To improve the linearity, the PSC 633generates the BSF and BOS by which to control the SCS in step 720. Thatis, the PSC 633 generates the BSF to adjust the scale of the ECS and theBOS to control the offset of the ECS.

Steps 730 through 760 are the same as steps 530 through 560 illustratedin FIG. 5. Thus, their description is not provided here.

Now, a description is made of a method of controlling a bias voltage fora PA according to the change in a power supply voltage in a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the structure of apower amplification control apparatus according to a third embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the power amplification controlling apparatuscomprises a RAP 810 for amplifying an input RF signal, an EDC 820 fordetecting the envelope of the RF signal, and a VEC 830 for providing acontrolled bias voltage V_(p) to the RAP 810.

The RAP 810 includes an RCC 811 for providing the input RF signal toboth the EDC 820 and a RFD 812, and a RFPA 814.

As in the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the RAP810 includes the RFD 812 for delaying the RF signal by a predeterminedtime to match the timing of signal output from the VEC 830 to the RFPA814 with the timing of signal output from an RFDA 813 to the RFPA 814.The RCC 811, connected to the EDC 820 and the RFD 812, provides the RFsignal to them. The RFDA 813 controls the level of the delayed RF signaland transmits the resulting signal to the RFPA 814.

The VEC 830 includes a VUC 838 for changing a power supply voltage MaxV_(v) received from a DC supply 850 according to the signal envelope, anECC 831 for outputting a control signal to the VUC 838 according to thechange in power supply voltage V_(c) from a first DC supply 840, and aV_(c) 835 for combining V_(v) received from the VUC 838 with V_(c) andoutputting the combined voltage V_(p) to the RAP 810.

The VUC 838 converts Max V_(v) received from a second DC supply 850 tothe variable DC voltage V_(v) according to the signal envelope detectedby the EDC 820.

The ECC 831 controls the maximum output voltage Max V_(v) of the VUC 836according to the change in V_(c). The V_(c) 835 provides the sum ofV_(v) and V_(c) as the bias voltage V_(p) to the RFPA 814.

The ECC 831 includes a V_(c) detector 832 for detecting the change ofV_(c) from the first DC supply 840 and a Max V_(v) controller 833 forcontrolling the maximum output voltage Max V_(v) of the VUC 836.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a power amplificationcontrolling method, that is, a bias voltage controlling method for theapparatus illustrated in FIG. 8 according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the ECC 831 detects a change in V_(c) received fromthe first DC supply 840 in step 910. The ECC 831 controls the maximumoutput voltage Max V_(v) of the VUC 838 according to the voltagevariation in step 930.

The V_(c) 835 provides the sum of V_(v) from the VUC 838 and V_(c) fromthe first DC voltage 840 as the bias voltage V_(p) to the RFPA 814.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the poweramplification controlling method of FIG. 9 in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 10, if V_(c) is changed to V_(c)′ due to electricityfailure or some problem with a rectifier and a signal having a maximumenvelope is received, the V_(c) detector 832 detects the variation ofV_(c) in step 5. In step 10, the Max V_(v) controller 833 determineswhether the voltage variation is a voltage decrease −ΔV_(c) or a voltageincrease +ΔV_(c). If it is a voltage decrease, the Max V_(v) controller833 adjusts the maximum output voltage Max V_(v) of the VUC 838 so thatMaxV_(v)′=V_(b)−V_(c)′=V_(b)−(V_(c)−ΔV_(c))=V_(b)−V_(c)+ΔV_(c)=V_(v)+ΔV_(c)in step 20. Max V_(v)′ is the adjusted maximum output voltage of the VUC838 and V_(b) is the break-down voltage of a transistor, that is, thevoltage of a signal having a maximum envelope.

In step 30, the output voltage V_(p) of the V_(c) 835 is adjusted sothat V_(p) =V_(c) +V_(v)′=V_(c)−ΔV_(c)+V_(v)+ΔV_(c)=V_(c)+V_(v). Theoutput voltage V_(p)′ of the V_(c) 835 is provided as a bias voltage tothe RFPA 614 in step 60. Therefore, the characteristics of the RFPA 814are maintained when there is a change in the power supply voltage.

If there is a voltage increase, the Max V_(v) controller 833 adjusts themaximum output voltage Max V_(v) of the VUC 838 so that MaxV_(v)′=V_(b)−V_(c)′=V_(b)−(V_(c)+ΔV_(c))=V_(b)−V_(c)−ΔV_(c)=V_(b)−ΔV_(c)in step 40. In step 50, the output voltage V_(p) of the V_(c) 835 isadjusted so thatV_(p)′=V_(c)′+V_(v)′=V_(c)+ΔV_(c)+V_(v)−ΔV_(c)=V_(c)−V_(v). The outputvoltage V_(p)′ of the V_(c) 835 is provided as the bias voltage to theRFPA 614 in step 60. Therefore, the phenomenon that V_(p) exceeds V_(b)is prevented, thereby protecting the transistor.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are graphs illustrating an example of the relationshipamong the power supply voltage V_(c), the transistor break-down voltageV_(b), the VUC output voltage V_(v), and the bias voltage V_(b) over theinput signal envelope, when the power supply voltage drops.

Referring to FIGS. 11A and 11B, at time t0, V_(c) drops to V_(c)′ with adecrement ΔV_(c) and an RF signal having a maximum envelope is input.The voltages will be considered with respect to time t0. Referring toFIG. 11A, V_(p)=V_(c)−ΔV_(c)+V_(v)<V_(b), causing clipping in theconventional power amplifying apparatus. On the contrary, the problem isovercome in the power amplifying apparatus of the embodiment of thepresent invention since V_(v) is compensated so that V_(v)′=V_(v)+ΔV_(c)and thus V_(p) rises so that V_(p)′=V_(c)+V_(v), as illustrated in FIG.l B.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are graphs illustrating an example of the relationshipamong the power supply voltage V_(c), the transistor break-down voltageV_(b), the VUC output voltage V_(v), and the bias voltage V_(b) over theinput signal envelope, when the power supply voltage rises.

Referring to FIGS. 12A and 12B, the voltages are considered with respectto time to when V_(c) rises to V_(c)′ with an increment ΔV_(c) and an RFsignal having a maximum envelope is input. Referring to FIG. 12A,V_(p)=V_(c)+ΔV_(c)+V_(v)>V_(b), deteriorating transistor characteristicsor destructing a transistor in the conventional power amplifyingapparatus. On the contrary, the problem is overcome in the poweramplifying apparatus of the present invention since V_(v) is compensatedso that V_(v)′=V_(v)+ΔV, and thus V_(p) drops so thatV_(p)′=V_(v)−V_(c).

It can be further contemplated as a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention that the VEC 830 is substituted for the VUC 432 or 642illustrated in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, respectively.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention improve thelinearity of a PA by configuring the PA to be bias-adaptive according tothe change in its operation or environment. Thus, amplificationefficiency is increased. Also, since the characteristics of the PA aremaintained when power supply voltage changes, a transistor can beprotected against the voltage change.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

1. A power amplification controlling apparatus based on bias adaptation, comprising: an input part for generating a radio frequency (RF) signal by modulating an input baseband signal and detecting the envelope of the baseband signal; an amplifying part for amplifying the RF signal using a power supply voltage; a bias adaptation part for detecting at least one of environmental changes of the amplifying part and generating a supply voltage control signal according to the signal envelope; and a power supply part for controlling the power supply voltage in response to the supply voltage control signal received from the bias adaptation part.
 2. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the environmental change of the amplifying part occurs according to a mean input power, a system power supply voltage, or an operation temperature.
 3. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bias adaptation part comprises: a power amplifier supply voltage controller for detecting at least one of environmental changes of the amplifying part and generating a variable attenuator control signal, a scale factor signal, and an offset signal by which the supply voltage control signal is generated according to the environmental change; a compensator for compensating the detected signal envelope; and an adaptation controller for generating the supply voltage control signal from the output of the compensator according to the scale factor signal and the offset signal.
 4. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input part comprises: an envelope detector for detecting the envelope of the baseband signal; a modulator for modulating the baseband signal to the RF signal; and a local signal generator for generating a local signal and outputting the local signal to the modulator.
 5. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the amplifying part comprises: a delay for delaying the RF signal; and an RF amplifier for amplifying the delayed signal with the power supply voltage.
 6. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the power supply part comprises: a voltage upconverter for upconverting a system power supply voltage; a transistor for controlling the upconverted power supply voltage according to the power supply voltage control signal, and outputting the controlled power supply voltage to the amplifying part; a diode connected to the system power supply voltage; and an RF choke connected to a cathode of the diode.
 7. A power amplification controlling method based on bias adaptation, comprising the steps of: (1) generating a radio frequency (RF) signal by modulating an input baseband signal, detecting the envelope of the baseband signal, detecting at least one of environmental changes of an amplifier, and generating a supply voltage control signal according to the signal envelope and the detected environmental change; and (2) controlling the power supply voltage in response to the supply voltage control signal.
 8. The power amplification controlling method of claim 7, wherein the environmental change occurs according to a mean input power, a system power supply voltage, and an operation temperature.
 9. The power amplification controlling method of claim 7, wherein the step of (1) comprises the steps of: detecting at least one of environmental changes of the amplifier and generating a variable attenuator control signal, a scale factor signal, and an offset signal by which the supply voltage control signal is generated, according to the detected environmental change; compensating the detected signal envelope; and generating the supply voltage control signal from the compensated signal envelope according to the scale factor signal and the offset signal.
 10. A power amplification controlling apparatus based on bias adaptation, comprising: a voltage converter for outputting a variable Direct Current (DC) voltage according to the envelope of an input signal; a supply voltage variation compensator for controlling a maximum output voltage from the voltage converter according to a change in a power supply voltage to be applied to a power amplifier; and a voltage combiner for providing the sum of the maximum output voltage of the voltage converter and the power supply voltage as a bias voltage to the power amplifier.
 11. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 10, wherein the supply voltage variation compensator comprises: a voltage detector for detecting the change in the power supply voltage to be applied to the power amplifier; and a controller for controlling the output voltage of the voltage converter according to the output of the voltage detector.
 12. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the power supply voltage to applied to the power amplifier is greater than a threshold, the supply voltage variation compensator decreases the output voltage of the voltage converter by a predetermined level.
 13. The power amplification controlling apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the power supply voltage to be applied to the power amplifier is less than a threshold, the supply voltage variation compensator increases the output voltage of the voltage converter by a predetermined level.
 14. A voltage controlling method in a power amplifying apparatus based on bias adaptation, comprising the steps of: detecting a variation in a power supply voltage to be applied to a power amplifier; controlling, upon detection of the power supply voltage variation, a voltage, which varies with an envelope voltage of an input signal, according to the power supply voltage variation; and providing the sum of the controlled voltage and the power supply voltage as a bias voltage to the power amplifier.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of, if the power supply voltage to be applied to the power amplifier is greater than a threshold, decreasing the variable voltage by a predetermined level.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of, if the power supply voltage to be applied to the power amplifier is less than a threshold, increasing the variable voltage by a predetermined level. 